Navy veteran "afraid for my country" hospitalized after altercation on Gulf Coast
Long Beach retired police officer accused of assaulting 74-year-old protester; files counter-charge
Craig DeRoche, a 64-year-old retired Long Beach police officer, is facing charges of assaulting a 74-year-old woman who was protesting actions by the current presidential administration.
WLOX reported that the incident happened in a vacant lot near the intersection of U.S. 90 and Jeff Davis Avenue on April 24, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. Both the TV station and the Sun Herald newspaper spelled the former officer’s name DeRouche, but the Long Beach police department spells it DeRoche.
News reports quoted Long Beach Police Chief Billy Seal saying the woman had parked her van on the lot and held a sign supporting the right to defend the U.S. Constitution “against all enemies.”
The woman, a who was not named in the article, was reportedly a Navy veteran who was hospitalized as a result of the altercation.
The Sun Herald reported that a man identified as “Craig DeRouche” had been arrested for assaulting the woman and threatening a second alleged victim who witnessed the attack and attempted to intervene. The arrested man subsequently pressed charges against the woman.
Seal told WLOX that DeRoche was at the property to view it as a possible investment when he got into an argument with the woman about why she was there, given that she was not the property owner. The woman had been stationed at the site for several days protesting ongoing events involving the United States government. Among the signs plastered to her van on the day of the altercation was one that read, “We should not have to protect democracy from the U.S. president.”
“It was a pushing match, and she ended up on the ground with a bump on her head,” Seal told the Sun Herald. The woman is reportedly in stable condition in a local hospital.
The newspaper reported that the former police officer has since signed a complaint against the woman for misdemeanor assault on him. Long Beach Municipal Judge James “Jim” Simpson allowed DeRoche to remain free pending further action in the case and will decide whether to issue a warrant for the woman or set up a probable cause hearing to determine if evidence exists to arrest her.
The Long Beach Police Department honored DeRoche in 2020 by presenting him with a plaque in recognition of his service as a patrolman and detective.
The woman who was reportedly assaulted holding a sign on U.S. 90 (courtesy Margaret McMullan)
A lot of dummies on both sides don't seem to understand that it is a protected right to protest anything you like. I'll leave it at that.